Time to Choose
by The Illusionist's Wings04
Summary: All Alex wanted was a pencil sharpener. Instead she ends up being thrown into the Maximum Ride books. With time running out, will she be able to save the flock from the fate that been written for them? FAX! Much better than the summary! R&R!
1. Prologue

** I got this idea while walking through a CVS. Definiteley a little strange, but hope you enjoy! Disclaimer: I don't own Max, Fang, or anything that JP wrote**

**Claimer: I do own any other characters, including Alex, Logan, and Jenna**

It all started in a CVS. This story and you might as well say my life started at the corner of Long Avenue and Mirror Street.

Why do I say life? Because I don't think that waking up at 6:00am, going to school, and coming home to watch TV is worthy of being called life. Maybe existence, but not life. Who knows, I could be asking to much, but I think it's okay to ask for a little excitement.

When I walked into that CVS, I got a lot a lot more excitement then I wanted. More than I could handle. That's why I ended up being forced to choose between saving your best friends or saving the world.

I'm guessing you think it's an easy choice. You'd definitely choose saving the world, of course. But it's different for me. I've been through everything with Logan and Jenna. Pain, misery, anger, happiness, hope. And those are just a few.

Now tell me if you think it's an easy choice. Still think it is? Your. Dead. Wrong.

So much has changed in the last 6 months. I've changed, Max has changed, and the world has changed. How? The veil between truth and fantasy has been broken. Sounds cheesy, but it's true. People have been forced to see the truth. Logan, Jenna, and I were one of the first, and if you're smart, you'll be one of the second. You'll be more prepared that way.

Read our story. See the truth. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Fly on,

Alex

**Good? Bad? Are you going to hunt me down with pitch forks? Hopeful not, but please review! This is my first fan fic, so I need all the help here!**


	2. What's Your Name?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Max, Fang, or anybody else that JP wrote**

"Hurry up, Alex!" My best friend Jenna started pulling me towards the automatic doors of CVS, her red hair in a messy bun. We've known each other since 2nd grade when I defended her from the school bully. We've been inseparable ever since. Maybe not as much as me and Logan, but really close. "We have to meet Logan at the movie theater in 30 minutes!"

"Exactly. I have enough time to pick out a freaking pencil sharpener!" I started walking towards the school supplies aisle. I really don't get Jenna. She always has to be early to everything. I mean, it'll only take me 60 seconds to pick out a pencil sharpener!

"Fine." Jenna playfully glared at me and pushed me towards the aisle. "Just be fast." I rolled my eyes at her.

"Of course, Princess Jenna" I said sarcastically, bowing to her. "I don't want to waste your royal life with my peasant needs."

"Good."

I turned around and looked at her, amazed. Since when did she become so rude? She looked at me, exasperated. "I was joking," Jenna said.

"Oh, yeah, of course," I mumbled, feeling dumb. I could feel my cheeks turning reds with embarrassment. Jenna laughed at me and started to walk to the aisle. I followed her.

"So what color would you like for your pencil sharpener," she said holding up a sharpener like those cheesy salesmen on TV. "We have this state of the art blue sharpener with a-" She looked down the aisle and her jaw dropped.

"You ok, Jenna?" I asked her, waving my hand in front of her wide eyes. What was up with her? She looked at me slowly, and pointed silently down the aisle, which was strange for her(I mean the silently part).

I followed her gaze and felt my jaw drop, too. Why? Because the two hottest guys were right down the aisle talking to a bunch of other people. One looked almost emo, with black hair, obsidian eyes, olive skin, and an emotionless mask. The other looked like the complete opposite of him. He had pale skin, light strawberry blond hair, and pale blue eyes. The only thing alike between the two guys was that they both muscular. Not crazy wrestler muscular, but a pleasant muscular, like they worked out every weekend.

Wait? Pale blue eyes? Oh. I stared sadly at the pale one. He must be blind. I elbowed Jenna to tell her, but the sad look on her face told me she had already guessed.

"Come on!" Jenna's frown turned into a grin as she started skipping towards them. "Let's say hi!"

I reached out a hand to stop her, but I was too late. She had reached them. I sighed and started following her. What mess were we in now?

Once I reached her, I could already tell she had really already freaked them out by randomly walking up to them. "Hi," she said happily, looking at each kid once before moving to the next. The oldest kid there was a girl who looked around our age. **(To answer any confusion, Alex and Jenna are fourteen, but close to fifteen. Logan just turned fifteen) **She had brown hair with so many sun streaks in it that it almost looked blond. She had chocolate colored eyes and was very tan. The two guys looked around her age. Two other girls stood next to each other. One looked around twelve and had cocoa colored skin, brown eyes, and judging her clothes, an awesome fashion sense. The second girl was probably seven years old, and she looked very angelic with curly blonde hair, and sky blue eyes. The last kid looked like he was her brother. He had the same blond hair and blue.

"My name's Jenna and this is Alex. What are your guys' names? Did you just move here? I don't recognize you from school. We go to-". I slapped my hand over her mouth. Couldn't she see the death glare that the older girl was giving us?

"Sorry about my friend here. She very…animated." I could feel Jenna glare at me and when I looked at her, she looked pointedly at my hand covering her out mouth. "Oops. Sorry." I removed my hand from her mouth.

"Don't do that again," Jenna said hardly and I smiled angelically at her. "So what are your names," she asked the group of kids. The little girl stepped forward and smiled at me, showing pearly white teeth. "I'm Angel," she told us.

Everyone's faces looked quickly at Angel. "Angel!" The older girl stared at her in horror. "Why the heck did you tell her that!"

Angel looked at her calmly. She said "Max, she already knows about us" at the same time me and Jenna said in union "What do you mean" to this Max girl.

I felt Max's gaze shift to me. I looked into her chocolate brown eyes and gasped.

"Maximum Ride," I choked out. The last thing I saw was the shock in Max's eyes before everything went black.

**Ooooo! Cliffy! Please review! I need all the help I can get!**

**Fly On,**

**The Illusionist's Wings**


	3. Psychic Jenna

**Thanks for the reviews! It inspired me to write more!**__**When I write like **_**this**_** it could be Angel, Max and Fang talking with their eyes, or the Voice. You'll usually be able to tell.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Max, the flock, or anything else JP wrote.**

**Claimer: I do own Jenna, Logan, Alex, and the plot.**

**Max's POV**

After Jenna passed out, everything pretty much went downhill.

"Maximum Ride?" I heard the other girl squeak out while kneeling by her friend. "You're really Maximum Ride?"

I looked up at all the flock's surprised faces. My gaze focused on Fang and I sent him a silent message.

_What should I do?_

Fang looked at me. _Be Max._

I sent him a glare and mentally slapped him on the head. I did _not_ need him going all fortune cookie Voice on me right now! This was actually serious. How was I supposed to be Max when I was… oh.

I sneered at her. For a second I thought I saw Fang smirk out of the corner of my eye. "Who's asking?"

She shrunk a little bit, but didn't back down "Me."

"Don't play games. I could kill you without even trying," I told her, punching a rack for effect. Who did she think she was? The queen of Sheba?

She stared at me, slowly starting to smile. "Definitely Max," she said in satisfied tone. I looked at her in disbelief. How did she even know? Besides the few pictures in the newspapers, nobody had ever seen us. Maybe she was a white coat. Even worse, she could be a fan of Fang's blog! I started slowly backing away from her. You have no idea how dangerous fangirls could be until you get chased by them. We had run in with them near my mom's house. We couldn't stay there for weeks!

_Max, she knows everything about you._

I looked at Angel. _What do you mean? _I thought at Angel.

She sighed. _What I mean is she knows everything about you and the flock. She knows about all our powers, our wings, that I was kidnapped by the whitecoats, and that you have a brother who's an Eraser. She even knows about you and Fang and what happened at the beach. _She grinned at that, and I glared at her, but then her clear blue eyes furrowed in concentration.

_What's up, Angel?_

She looked at me in confusion. _There are two things I don't understand. One, I can't really tell where she got all this information. All I seem to pick up is something about a book series and somebody named James Patterson. Two, she keeps on thinking about things that happen to us._

I looked at her and thought slightly rudely to her, _I thought we had already made it clear that she knows all about us?_

She glared at me, but still somehow looked angelic. _What I mean is she somehow knows about things that haven't happened to us yet. They're things that happen to in the future._

I must stood there with my jaw hanging open for some time, because Nudge finally waved her hand in front of my face.

"Yoo hoo, Max. You still there? We better get out of here." I blinked hard and looked at Nudge. She gestured wildly at the customers of CVS. I guess Alex's unconscious figure must have caught some attention because they were all staring at us. One man in a red vest was talking quietly into a cell phone while keeping his eyes trained on me. Crap. The police were probably going to be any minute.

"Everyone get outside and do a U and A," I told the flock, being sure to make it clear that Jenna and Alex were not welcome. When Nudge, Gazzy, Fang and I started jogging towards the doors, Angel and Iggy didn't follow us.

I turned around. "Come on, guys. The cops are going to be here soon."

Iggy looked at me sadly. "I'm not leaving," he said quietly.

I frowned at him. "Come on, Iggy! We don't have time to play games!"

"We can't just leave them here!" He gestured toward Alex and Jenna. "You know that's not right, Max," he said harshly, which amazed me. Iggy and I didn't usually argue.

"Iggy's right, Max. They can help," Angel said, staring intently at me.

I glowered at both of them. I didn't need this right now! We needed to get going now. They both knew that not just the cops could show up, but Erasers could. I didn't want to endanger more people's lives than needed. I sighed. Iggy and Angel weren't going to let up on this. I guess Jenna and Alex were going along for the ride.

"Fine," I said grimly. "Are you sure you want to come?" I asked Jenna.

She nodded. "I know Alex would want to go too."

I rolled my eyes and turned to Fang. "Fang, you carry Je-." Just then I noticed Jenna's flaming red hair. Angel giggled at me (or maybe it was my thoughts about Red-Haired Wonder2) and whispered 'I told you' to Iggy. I glared at her. "Fang, you carry Alex. Iggy, you carry Jenna." I stalked off, leaving Fang and Iggy to pick up the two girls.

When I got to the doors the man in the red vest ran in front of me. "I'm afraid I can't let you leave," he said very businesslike to me. "The police will want to speak with you."

I assessed him, checking to see if he wasn't some retired professional wrestler. He seemed like he would be easy enough to take down if I had to. "Sir, I'm asking you to move out of the way. I don't want to hurt you." I know, me asking him? Hey, I just don't want more hating people hating my guts. I already have evil wolf man hunting me down.

The man looked stupidly at me. It seemed like he didn't think it was possible for me to be able to hurt him. Then I heard police sirens close by. Time to get out of here.

I swiftly kicked him in the stomach, and he fell to the floor out of breath. "Come on!" I yelled. The flock and I ran outside. By now the police were pulling into the parking lot. "U and A!" Then we spread our wings and leapt into the air.

I got to say, our wings are pretty magnificent. Mine were brown with white and tan streaks. Fang's were so black that they sometimes look purple in the sunlight. Angel's were white, hence the name Angel. Nudge had tawny wings, and Iggy's are tan. Gazzy's were tan and white wings. **(The books never says what color Gazzy's wing color is, so this is just what I imagine) **I used to think I would give up my wings for a normal life, but now I think twice. Once you're up in endless blue sky with the wind caressing your face, it's hard to imagine life with it.

To my lower left, I heard Jenna gasp with amazement. We were so high that the people below us looked like ants. The light blue sky expanded endlessly. It was truly beautiful. Just then I realized something. The flock had efficient enough lungs to fly this high, but it should be hard for Jenna and Alex to breath. "Hey, Jenna, are you feeling alright?"

Jenna looked up at me. "Yeah, better than alright. It's so pretty up here! You're so lucky to be able to do this every day."

My brain went into hyperdrive, going through all the possibilities. She could be a mutant and she could be a whitecoat. Either way, she isn't completely human. Whether or not she knows, I couldn't guess. I guess it's possible to be a mutant without knowing it. I'll have Jenna give me some answers when we land.

"Hey, Max?" Jenna called up to me. "We need to stop by the movie theater. Alex would kill me if we just left Logan waiting at the movie theater. We also need to stop by the house. Alex and I haven't had lunch yet."

The word 'lunch' caught my attention. The flock and I haven't eaten since last night. We needed food. "Fine," I called back down to her. "We need to hurry, though."

Exactly six seconds after I said that, Alex woke up.

**I hope this isn't absolutely horrible. I got a major writers block after the first page and a half. Review, review, review, review!**

**Fly On,**

**The Illusionist's Wings04**


	4. Questions, Questions

**So sorry to keep you guys waiting! I've had tons of homework and all that fun stuff, so… yep. I'd like to thank Evilhunterperson, Hannah Brandon 1234321, and jaywing for all their great ideas!**

**Disclaimer: If I did own Maximum Ride, would I be sitting here typing up fanfiction? Nope. I would be writing **_**Angel**_** (which I don't own either!)**

**Claimer: I own Alex, Jenna, and everything else that JP didn't write**

**Alex's POV:**

"Fine," I heard someone call. "We need to hurry, though."

"Need to hurry for what?" I mumbled, keeping my eyes closed while reaching around to hit the snooze button on the alarm clock that _should _be going off right now. "What so important that you needed to wake me up on a Saturday?"

"She's awake," I heard a deep voice right above me say.

"Yep, I'm awake. Anything else you what to say, Logan? Maybe 'oh, I'm sooo sorry for waking you. Will you forgive me? Here's some freshly baked waffles, just the way you like them.' Sounds good to me!" I said in one breath.

"Is she always like this? Because she's even more of a chatter box than me. Is that even possible? I don't know, is it Max? Ooh! I saw this really cute shirt at Target! It had 'Chatterbox' written in pink sparkly glue on the front. I wonder how they even get the glitter in the glue? Maybe they mix the glue with the glitter. Either way, it looks really awesome! Can we get the shirt? We have your credit card, so you can use that to pay. Ooh, there was this really awesome muhm mmm hum-."

"Thanks, Iggy," said a relived voice. Iggy. Iggy. Why did that name sound so familiar?

"Hey Logan, who's Iggy?"

"Um, who's Logan?"

"You are, silly," I laughed, opening my eyes to see Logan, but instead seeing one of the hot guys we saw at CVS. I froze up, looked up at him, and did what any sane girl like me would do in this situation. I started screaming bloody murder.

"Let go of me!" I screeched, wriggling around like an eel. "Who the heck are you?"

"Fang," the guy said perfectly calmly. "I'd suggest you stop squirming around in less you want to be an Alex pancake."

I stopped struggling immediately. "And why, may I ask, would I be an Alex pancake?" I asked. This Fang dude motioned with his head to the floor. I looked down slowly, half expecting to be standing at the edge of the Empire State building. But nope, that would be too easy in my life, so instead I was about 22,000 feet higher than that. I squeaked and grabbed on to his neck. Then I heard somebody laughing.

"Who was that?" I questioned, my voice being muffled Fang's coat.

"Basically everybody," he replied.

"Everyone?"

"Max, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, Angel, and of course, that Jenna girl your friend's with."

I peeked up and gasped. Why? Because before me I saw a bunch of kids being held aloft 23,789 feet above Earth by _wings. _The other guy from CVS was holding Jenna.

Jenna grinned up at me. "Isn't this so awesome!" she gushed. "Maximum Ride is actually real! Can you believe it?"

"Nope, I can't I say I do," I replied. I glared at Jenna. "Did we have another one of those fan fiction marathons last night? I told you those gave me wacky dreams! I mean, look at this one. It's too crazy, even for me."

Dream Jenna looked at me oddly. "This isn't a dream, Alex. Do you remember anything?"

I ignored her. "And where's Logan? Shouldn't he be in the dream, too? And Total? Why don't I hear him whining about how he needs to go to the little doggy's room? None of this-."

"Alex," Dream Angel said, "none of this is dream. Here, I'll prove it." She stopped in mid air and looked at Fang. "Drop her."

What!" I yelped, but that didn't stop gravity. In a matter of second I was plummeting toward a huge forest. The wind was rushing in my ears and the only other thing I could hear was my yelling. Right before I hit the trees, I heard some whooshing above me, and I was caught in a pair of arms.

"I swear, if you ever pull a stunt like that again, I will kill you," I said deadly, glaring up a smirking Fang. I guess my glare was pretty scaring looking, because Fang's face went blank. Or maybe he was just trying to be nice. Let's just go with the first.

"That good enough for you," said a very happy Max. Gosh, did she really hate me that much already?

"Yeah," I said icily. Who knew Max could be so rude. Okay, everybody knows, but that's not really the point, is it?

"So, what next?" said a very hyped up Gazzy. "Do we get to blow up anybody up yet?"

"Sorry buddy, but unless you see a random Itex building, I don't think Max will let us," Iggy said. Since when did he listen to Max? Apparently I was heard, because immediately after Max turned her back, Iggy whipped over to Gazzy. I couldn't help feel bad for Jenna. She was literally stuck in the middle of some plan that was probably going to end up setting fire to the next forest we camped in.

Wow. It's so weird to say 'we'. I mean, how is it possible that we had run into Max and her flock? I don't think it probably happens much. At least, I hope not. It makes me feel so special! Of course, don't forget to add sarcasm to my last remark.

"So…" Max wheeled around to me. "How do you know so much about us? How can I be sure you're not Whitecoats? Who's Logan? Is he-."

"Not now," I interrupted. "Can you just wait? I'm still freaking out inside."

"No."

"Look," I said, trying to keep the peace. "I'll tell you when we land. It'll be a whole lot easier to have another person besides Jenna and me to explain."

"And who is that?"

"Logan," I said, exasperated. "Who else? Santa Clause?"

"Well, luckily I won't have to wait much longer," Max said. "We're here."

**I'll admit this chapter isn't probably one of my best chapters. Review! I can take constructive criticism, and I can definitely take compliments!**


	5. Calm, Calculating Logan

** Sorry it took so long to update. I haven't been able to get on the computer. Also, we should all thank Microsoft Office Word 2007 for putting an auto save feature on the program or else I would've lost this whole chapter. So, THANK YOU! A lot of things I put in this chapter are from real life experiences. Of course, I've never met the flock (makes sense****), but the whole Fang flying over thing was something that actually happened. So, drum roll please, for Chapter 4!**

The theater was huge. It had a giant neon colored sign above the entrance, stating that this was indeed the theater. Crowds of teens were walking into it, celebrating the fact that it was finally Friday. The parking lot was filled up with cars, and the headlights were reflecting off the bumpers of cars in front of them. The sky was getting dark, so we didn't have too much trouble landing in the back of the building without anybody seeing us.

"God, your heavy," huffed Fang, setting me feet first on the ground.

"Like Max was?" I asked innocently, grinning like a hyena. Jenna snickered, and Angel and Nudge smiled knowingly at me. Max was seething with anger and her hands were in tight fists.

"I do not!" Max snapped quite randomly at Angel after a pause. "What would give you that idea?"

"Of course you don't," said Angel soothingly. But right after Angel said this, she beamed at me. _She sooo stubborn. For the work I've done, all I've gotten a few kisses between them._

I grinned at her. What? Don't blame me for forgiving her about the death fall she requested. She gave me the bambi eyes! _Don't worry. Your work isn't going unnoticed. _I started walking towards the front of theater, and Jenna bounced next to me. "You guys coming?" I called over my shoulder. I heard a few grumbles, but soon footsteps trailing after me. 

"Hey, Jenna? Do you see Logan anywhere?" I asked Jenna when we got to the front of theater. I was looking around for him, but didn't see the signature mop of chestnut hair. Ugh! Of course the girls who ended up running into fictional book characters are on time, but the kid who had nothing to do was late. What can I say? The world's been turned upside down.

"I don't see-. Ohh, there he is!" Jenna said in excitement. She ran over to the familiar figure of Logan and tossed her arms around his neck. I saw Nudge give them a curious look.

"Are they dating or something? They would look so cute as a couple! When did they get together? Or is that-."

I put my hand over her mouth, feeling a strange feeling in my stomach. But why would it bother me that Nudge assumed that? It's not like I like him _that _way. We're just friends. "Nope, they're not dating or something. Jenna's just really open. I've seen her hug a complete stranger on the street," I told her. I decided not to mention that that stranger pick pocketed a five dollar bill out of her pocket. "They're just good friends."

"You say that like you aren't friends with him," Max said. I guess she cooled down a little from the whole 'Max likes Fang, and she won't admit it' incident.

I smirked at that idea. Like that would ever happen. "That's definitely not true. I've known him practically since I was born. Even longer than I've known Jenna. We met when she moved here in 2nd grade." I glanced between Max and Fang. "Kind of like you and Fang, Max. Of course, we didn't meet at the School."

When I said School, I could tell Max knew I didn't mean the school with teachers, students, and swings out front. Her eyes lit up with fury and sadness, probably recalling the horrors they had to deal with as children. Poor Angel flinched, having to see all the terrors of the School repeated in Max's mind. I immediately felt sorry. Why did I mention the School? God, I feel like an idiot.

When Max looked back up at me, her gaze was filled with suspicion. "How do you know about the School?" Max said tensely, looking like she would throw a punch at me if I took a single step out of line.

"I'll tell you after we meet Logan," I replied. I turned around without waiting for an answer and started walking toward Logan and Jenna.

When I finally got over to them, I heard Jenna chatting relentlessly about something and a pained expression on Logan's face. He has messy short chestnut hair and sea green eyes that were usually narrowed in a calculating expression.

"You won't believe what happened! You should've of been there! It was awesome! But I probably shouldn't tell you until Alex gets over here. Actually, do you think she'd mind if I just told you now? But then you'd start questioning me, and that wouldn't be good because I'm only just starting _Fang_. Anywho, shouldn't you be reading _The Angel Experiment_? You're not? Darn it! I told you…"

I half felt like letting Logan suffer Jenna's chatter. He had promised to start the series on Wednesday! But I could feel Max's gaze on my back, and I knew she wouldn't be too happy to stand here waiting for Jenna to run out of things to say, which could be an hour or two. So, when Logan saw me behind him, I didn't ignore him. "Hey, Alex," he said in a relieved voice, happy to be out of Jenna's grasp. He smiled and I couldn't but help but smile back. "What's Jen talking about?"

"Hey," I said, trying to sound normal, but inside I was freaking out about how to tell him about Max and the flock. I mean, it's hard to explain the impossible to a guy who thinks very reasonably, but he hasn't even read the books! Of course, we keep on pestering him to read the series but he keeps on coming up with excuses not to read it. "Sorry, but I don't think we're going to get see the movie," I said, trying to put as much remorse into my voice.

"What?" I heard Gazzy say. "I was really looking forward to seeing-!"

"Shush!" I said as quietly as I could, knowing that with the super hearing that the flock has they would hear me. Logan looked behind me, seeming to finally notice the flock standing there. "Who are they?" he asked.

Jen jumped to the opportunity to say something. "This is-."

"Max, F-Nick, Jeff, Tiffany, Zephyr, and Angel. They just moved from…Arizona," I interrupted, stumbling over Fang's name. I know, saying their fake names wasn't probably the smartest thing to say, but I panicked! I mean, if Jen and I went with them, I would like to have someone back home who knew where we. But then he would want to come with us and I definitely don't want him coming. It's not that I don't want him with us. I just don't want him in any danger.

"F-Nick?" Logan said in a questioning tone. His eyes were narrowed in deep thought. Crap. I knew we shouldn't have told him about that. "Wait. Isn't he that guy who you were all obsessed over last year? And that Iggy dude? And that girl named Maximum Ride?" He said smiling, probably remembering those great times where he would tell us he saw Fang flying above. Actually, I had sworn revenge on him for that. Hm. Forgot. _Note to self: Plan Revenge._ Anyway, back to the story.

Then his eyes started widening in understanding. "And didn't you say that girl Nudge made up ridiculously long names, one of which started with Tiffany. And your name's Tiffany..," he said slowly, pointing at Nudge with a dazed look on his face. At least he wasn't yelling out 'Egast!' Though I wouldn't put it past him. Logan blinked a few times, and then stood up from the curb. He looked at Max. "For some reason I thought you would be taller," he told her randomly. She just stared at him.

"How on earth are you taking this calmly? I fainted when I found out!" I said to Logan, feeling really silly. "Actually, what a stupid question to ask. More importantly, how did you guess?"

"Alex, Jen basically told me right after you guys found me," Logan said, still looking at the flock.

I glared at Alex. She looked sheepishly at me. "Don't blame me!" she said, putting her arms up in defense. "You would have done the same thing."

"Whatever." I turned to Logan. "Well, you understand why Jen and I can't go to the movie with you. You can go ahead and go to it, though," I said.

"Are you joking!" he said in amazement. "Like I would leave to fight evil wolfmen alone!"

"Ok, now you seriously owe me some answers," Max said forcefully. She stepped in between Logan and I. "How do you guys know about Erasers?"

I sighed and started playing with my hair, a nervous habit never broken. "Umm…you know what? I'm sure Jenna can explain this better. Go ahead, Jenna."

Jenna gave me that 'you-are-_sooo_-not-dragging-me-into-this' look. "It's all right, you can explain," she said innocently. "I know how excited you are to." I just glared at her.

"Well…," I said slowly, averting my eyes from Max's eyes. "It's a long story."

**I'd like to thank jaywing for the lovely idea of Logan not reading the books, and though I didn't get a chance to use it, ****Hannah Brandon 1234321**** awesome idea!**


	6. What Next?

** Hey, peeps! All right, have any of you ever had one of those sudden moments where you suddenly hear or see something so familiar that you can't help but think 'where has the time gone?' I just a major one and all I was doing was listening to**_** Just Dance**_**. Haven't to listened to that in a long time! **

I sighed. This would be harder that I imagined. Believe me, like every other doting fan of Maximum Ride, I had imagined this moment. It was always a different scene. Fang falling for me, instead of Max was one of them. One I really liked imagining was me showing them my awesome kung-fu moves by helping them defeat an army of flyboys, after whipping out some pair of wings. Neither of which I have, but that's not the point. The point is I've never imagined it this way. Now I wish I had.

"Umm," I thought out loud, sounding like a complete idiot. Fang must have agreed, because he raised a single eye brow at me. "Oh, shut up," I shot at him. He raised his arms in surrender, and I just glared at him.

Nudge looked at me in astonishment. "How did you do that? I mean, the only person who really understands Fang is Max. But that makes sense because they're made for each other! Soulmates always know what the other thinks. Look at Bella and Edward! Actually, that's a bad example. Edward can't even read Bella's mind. YEEP! Eclipse came out! Jacob is sooooo hot! Bella should choose Jacob! Anywho, Fang and Max are PERFECT together. PERFECT I tell you all! Just like night and day! And Max is so pretty like the sun! OOH! I want to do a makeover of Max! Then she'll be model pretty! I can't believe they mmpgh migph-." Just in time, Iggy stopped the Nudge Channel.

Jen and I broke down in laughter. Unable to stand, we fell to the concrete and started laughing even harder, rolling around. People walking by gave us those 'in-few-seconds-their-going-to-take-out-a-banana-and-demand-my-flamingo-eating-baboon' looks. One mother even pulled her children away. Hm. We got those looks a lot. Wonder why?

Fang stared at us emotionlessly, a red tinge to his cheeks. Max looked mortified. Her face was getting as red as a tomato. Or potato. There are potatoes with red skins. It's a fact. Trust me.

Anyway, when Jen and I finally stopped giggling, we rose to our feet unsteadily. "You, my friend, have quite a mouth on you," Jen giggled out. She stared at me in awe. "Did you ever think she could say," she looked down at her royal purple watch, "102 words in 15 seconds? That's, like, world record worthy!" She peered around. "Does anyone have a video camera?" Nudge blushed. The rest of the flock just gawked at us. Logan looked at us calmly. He was way too used to these episodes Jen and I had. Of course, he had enough times to get used to them. There was that one about the meaning of life, though…

"You haven't had any punch lately, have you?" Logan asked me, completely serious.

I grinned evilly. "Well, there was that party last Friday. But I only had 11 cups!" I exclaimed innocently.

Logan groaned. "Sorry about this," he muttered to Gazzy. Gazzy just kept on ogling at us.

"What would James Patterson think?" I dramatized, drinking in the weirdness of this situation. "His own character Fang blushing! What has the world come to!" I pressed the back of my hand to my forehead, falling to the ground.

Jen ran over to catch me. "Stay with me, Alex. Stay with me!" she pleaded theatrical.

"Good-bye, Jen," I said faintly. "At least I met Maximum Ride. Though her best friend brought my downfall," I said weakly, glaring at Fang. Then I closed my eyes.

"NOOOO!" Jen cried out. I cracked my eyes open to see her running toward Fang. Even through the fog of the craziness, I knew that wouldn't be the best idea with Fang's fighting experience.

I jumped up. "And I'm back!" I yelled happily.

"YAY!" Jenna tackled me in a hug.

I looked over at Max. "Now do you understand?" I asked her.

She stared at me. "I can honestly say I don't," she said in a shocked voice. She took a few steps towards Angel as if I was going to tackle them.

"Ugh. Do I have to explain everything?" I sighed. Rolling my eyes, I turned to Jen. "Do you have a spare book?"

"A spare book?" I heard Max mutter, but I didn't pay any attention to her. Jen rummaged around in her shoulder bag, throwing random items at Logan every few seconds. Finally after a moment she took out a blue book and handed it to me. On the cover there was a girl with white wings and curly black hair. I passed it over to Max. "There," I said in a final tone.

_**Max POV**_

I didn't even bother looking down at the book. "Is this a joke?"

Alex and Jen groaned in harmony. Alex walked over and underlined the title with her finger tip. "What's that say?" she asked me, enunciating ever word like I was a child.

I glowered at her. I wasn't an idiot. I could read! I reluctantly looked down at the title. It took me a few seconds to really understand what was on that plastic cover. _Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment. _My eyes got as wide as saucers. "What is this?" I stuttered out.

"What is what?" Fang asked, finally having gotten over Nudge's speech. Took him long enough. He looked over my shoulder. I expected him to gasp, maybe start into some monologue about how he always knew there was more to life and we should all meditate on this. And to all you geniuses out there, this is called sarcasm, people! It is highly respected in Maxotopolis, which right off the Milky Way.

All Fang said though was, "why does it have to be named after Max?"

"Because I'm just that awesome," I teased, smirking. Then I turned on Alex. "Why is it named after me?"

Jen stared at me. "Isn't it obvious? You're the main character!"

I frowned. "What do you mean, I'm the main character?" Wow, who knew I was so important. First the savior of the world and now the main character in a book! I'm so special!

Alex turned to Fang. "There is one named after you, Fang," she told him. She nodded toward the rest of the flock. "Actually, there's one named after all of you."

I just blinked at her, registering what was going on. "So you're saying that there's a series of books that are written about us?" I said carefully.

Alex shrugged. "Basically. Actually the last book just came out."

Unexpectedly, I felt like I needed to fly to the nearest Barnes and Noble. "What happens in the end?"

I could tell Alex's energy was starting run low. I knew how she felt. When something huge happened, I could feel the adrenaline powering me. But soon enough I would drop with exhaustion. My eyes widened in surprise. Why was I caring? I had only known her for less than three hours. I didn't even her last name.

She looked awkwardly down at the ground. After a moment she glanced up at me. "I'm not sure I should tell you. I mean, I know this sounds cheesy, but it could, like, mess up the future or something."

Jenna looked utterly annoyed by this. Who knows why. But with her glowering like that, she was either really needing to pee or she was annoyed. "Why shouldn't we tell them! Don't you think Iggy should know about-," Jen ranted until Alex interrupted.

"It's just better that way," Alex hissed. "How do you think she would take it?"

Jen looked hurt, but I could tell that Alex and Jen were pretty close. But what did Alex mean by 'how do you think she would take it?'? Who was the 'she'?

Iggy had jumped at his name. "Know about what?" he asked quickly.

Alex looked guiltily at him. "Sorry, we can't tell you." She glanced at Jen. "Right, Jen?"

Jen looked infuriated, but I guess she knew there was no point in arguing. "Whatever," she mumbled.

Iggy looked mad, but he didn't say anything. Poor Iggy. It must not be easy to not know what was going on. Good hearing and senses may make up for the blindness, but that couldn't bring back his sight.

"So what next?" I heard Nudge ask.


	7. Meetings

**Hey, peeps! So I was reading my reviews and I saw there was some confusion about Jen saying something about Iggy and Alex saying 'how do you think 'she' would take it?'. Those two things are separate things, just to clear that up. Sorry I haven't been updating lately. I've had Power of the Pen, homework, and a bunch of things to do, so I've been writing in small time periods. So… yep. Hope you like the chapter!**

_**Jenna's POV**_

"I think we should go with them, Alex," a quiet voice said. We all looked toward the voice and saw Logan, standing there grinning sheepishly. When he saw everyone looking at him, he raised his voice. "I mean, think about it. Max will probably need your guys' help staying out of the clutches of those whitecoat people," he told Alex and I. Then he smirked. "And of course you'll need my genius."

Alex raised her eyebrows. "You're so modest," she joked, chuckling. Then she strolled over to Logan and I and tossed her arms over our shoulders. "Sounds like a plan. It's not like I would go on a life-changing quest without my buddies."

I rolled my eyes. "You're so weird.

Alex beamed at me. "It's a gift."

Max looked horrified by this all. "And we get no choice in this?" she said stiffly. Her face was guarded.

"Of course you get a choice," I told her. "It's not like we'll sprought wings in the next few minutes."

Max opened her mouth like she was going to say something, but she closed her mouth. Angel eyes glazed over. A few moments later, Max's eyes looked empty. I wonder what she was going to say.

Alex scowled. "You know, that'd be considered rude in some countries," she muttered, removing her arms from our shoulders. Angel snapped out of it and looked at Alex curiously.

"What do you mean?"

I sighed, seriously getting annoyed with all the explaining. "We know about your power," I told her quietly, aware of the couple a few yards away who could easily hear us. I felt a tugging in my mind, and I frowned along with Alex. "Would you stop poking around in our minds," I told her irritantly. Hey, you wouldn't like a seven year old digging around your brain either!

Alex looked over at Fang. "I'd suggest you move soon," she said solemnly. "I mean, we wouldn't like to have those girls over there drooling at you to have a heart attack from you disappearing, would we?"

Fang just blinked at her. Nudge, on the other hand, seemed to take this as an invitation to start talking.

"Hey, one of those is a red head! And we all know about red heads and Fang. No offense to you Jenna, or anything. I mean, you knowing all of our life it mhmn uhm-." Thank God for Iggy turning off the Nudge Channel.

I smiled. "It's fine," I told Nudge. "Alex took the liberty of reminding me of that," I said, playfully shoving Alex on the shoulder.

She smirked. "What can I say? It was the perfect opportunity."

"Whatever," I said, rolling my eyes. "So…" I turned to Max. "What do you want to do?"

Max looked like she was dreading the answer. "It would probably be a good idea if they came," she said slowly. Then she glanced at us suspiciously. "But one slip that makes me even think your spies, you're gone. Got it?"

"Sure," Alex said airily. She twisted to look at Logan and I. "So how do you think we should go about this?"

Logan stared into space thoughtfully. He was the thoughtful kind of guy. The biggest rash decision I've ever seen him make is deciding on vanilla instead of strawberry ice cream at some carnival. Ok, so maybe that wasn't entirely true but still… "Well, we should probably figure out where they are in the series, or if their even still in the series."

Alex jerked her head in acknowledgement. "Right," she muttered. "So where were you guys at the CVS in the first place?"

Max rolled her eyes, and nodded toward Nudge. "Nudge just_ had_ to get some sketch pad for drawing up fashions. We're headed toward Total and Akila's wedding."

"What!" Alex and I gasped. "Oh, you jerk," I growled at Fang, "You, you-!"

Alex held me back. "Not now, Jen. We can slap him later."

I pulled my arm out her grasp. "Fine," I growled.

Max looked worried. "What's wrong?" Poor girl. Didn't know what was coming.

Alex looked sadly towards her. "It's nothing." Then she looked gloomily at me. I met her eyes and a silent agreement passed between us. We have to change this future.

Unfortunately, Max also saw the looks. "Well it's obviously nothing," she snapped. "Just tell me."

"No," Alex retorted. "So why don't we head toward my house? My dad's a great cook. Like, TV-worthy."

I perked up a bit. "Is he making grilled cheese?" I asked tentatively. Please, please let him make it!

Alex grinned. "Yep! And tater tots and tomato soup and chips and-." But she was caught off by my squeals of joy. Seriously, you have never tasted cheese until you have her dad grill it. It's like heaven. AMAZING!

Max and Fang looked like they weren't ready to drop it. But judging by the drool, Max was ok with questioning with a full stomach. "Fine."

"Great!" I strolled over to Iggy and jumped into his arms. His legs almost buckled with the unexpected weight and he grunted. I heard hear Logan and Alex snorting behind me.

"What the-," he said, his cheeks red.

"Iggy. No cursing in front of children," I warned him.

"-heck," he finished, scowling.

I looked up innocently. Yes, I'm fully aware it wouldn't make a difference. It just makes it more fun when annoying people. "Well, aren't we going?"

He rolled his unseeing eyes at me. "Not in the broad daylight, smart one."

I peered up at the sky. "Actually the sun's setting, so it wouldn't be in broad day light."

Iggy seemed at a loss for words. I smiled. "See, when it gets dark, the sun goes to sleep and-."

"Jen, you can flirt with Iggy later," Alex called to me. Fang smirked at his friend's expression and I blushed bright red. "We got to get the little birdies'' food," she continued.

At this point I could tell Max was about to kill my best friend. Alex just had a way with getting under people's skin. Poetry, I'd call it. But apparently Max didn't get art when she heard it. She raised an arm and took a step towards Alex. Luckily, Fang stopped her. He whispered something in her ear and something changed in her eyes. She nodded and backed away, still glaring daggers at Alex. All a while, Alex stared coolly at her.

"So we going?" Nudge asked. "I'm starved! And I love tater tots. I wonder why they call them tater tots. Why do they, Max?"

Max sighed. "I have no idea, Nudge." When she looked around, I could tell a problem passed through her brain. "How are we going to take Logan?"

Logan shrugged his shoulders. "I'll just take the bus. It's stops about a block away from Alex's house."

Looking worried, Alex glanced at him. "Are you sure? I mean, that goes through the bad part of town."

Logan crossed his arms. "I'll be fine," he told her.

Still looking uncomfortable, Alex turned to Max. "So shall we set off?"

WwWwWwWwWwW

_**Alex's POV**_

The flight to Alex's house was uneventful. But as Jen said, the sun was setting, and it was like a painting. If you think that a sunset is beautiful from the ground, you haven't seen anything. In the sky, it was like you were in the middle of the whole shebang of colors. Blues, purples, yellows, oranges, and reds splattered the sky. I couldn't help but be jealous of the flocks' wings.

When we came above my house, I told Max about pesky old Mrs. Parker who spied on everyone. What can I say? We live in a small town. Max had Angel scan the area before we landed in my backyard. Pulling in their wings, Fang and Iggy set us down.

"So," I told them, "you know the drill. Keep your wings in tight. We'll get going after eating. Ok?" A chorus of yeahs and whatevers followed me to the side door. Walking up to the door, I started tapping my foot expectantly. After waiting for a few moments, I groaned. "Well, aren't you going to turn around?"

Gazzy eyeballed me like I was crazy. Poor, poor, children. They've never met any this spazzy, random attitude. Guess they'll have to get used to it! "Why?" Gazzy questioned.

"I can't show you where the key is," I enlightened them. "For all I know you could break in."

They all stared at me, but turned around obediently. I opened the mail slot beside the door and slipped out a cold, metal key from a hidden slot. Slamming the lid closed, I glided the key into the door and turned it. With a flourish I opened the door. "I'm home, Dad! I hope you don't mind that I brought a few guests," I called through the empty hall. Walking in, I heard the Flock gasp behind me. Remember how I told you my dad wasn't a cook? He is, however, a scientist. I figured with the Flock's past, it wouldn't be great idea to start bragging about it. And being a scientist, it brings in a hefty amount of cash. It's not like we own a mansion or anything, but we had a lot of expensive looking furniture and decorations around.

I ignored their responses. All I paid any attention too was my dad. He walked in drying his hands. Somehow Michael Reese set aside time to work and stay be a stay at home dad. I looked up to him as a role model a lot, besides my teacher. I still don't know how he does it all. When I was four and my sister, Katy, was two, my mother had passed away in a car accident. To be honest, I really don't remember my mom. Every once in a while, though, I would get a flash of memory of a woman with dirty blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes.

My dad smiled at Jen and Logan and then looked up towards the doorway. His eyes in horror and suprisie. He hastily turned right around and started running away. But before I could even blink, Max was blocking the way. She glared coldly at him. "Hello, Jeb."

**RED ALERT! I just read the excert to Angel and it horrifying! Insane! And just plain awesome! For all that what to read it, just go to James Patterson's website. Please review!**


	8. Suprise!

**I'm so sorry about not updating! Lots of crazy things going on at once, and I haven't had a lot of time to update. I don't have the next chapter written yet, but it should be up by the end of the work week. It would be up sooner, but I have to study for two tests that are in the two subjects that aren't my best points. So heres chapter… some number.**

I think the world just froze. I don't hear any cars, no birds. And the world is tilting. Why's everything sparkling? I'm seeing stars. Why am I on the floor? And why'd my hand come away red from my head? Is that blood? But I don't feel anyth-, OWWWW! I winced, feeling pain lash through my head. What happened? All I remember is Max calling my dad…what was did she say? Jed? Joe? No, Jeb. What the –insert choice of swear word- is going on?

I looked up for any help and I saw everyone frozen. They were all staring at me, a different expression on each face. "Well, don't let me interrupt anything," I said, grimacing from the blood on my hand. I had always been slightly queasy around blood. I had never actually thrown up from it, but I had the perfect excuse to right now. "I mean, I'm only bleeding pint after pint."

Logan was the first to wake up. He ran over to me and without looking grabbed the dish towel from my "dad's" frozen fingers. Placing it on the jagged feeling cut, he started applying pressure.

"Where'd you come from?" I asked dizzily.

Still looking down at my head, he replied, "I came in just in time to see Max trying to kill your dad."

I nodded my head in approval, but grabbed onto the wall for support. "Yeah, I noticed that, too," I told him, "any idea why?"

Logan opened his mouth to answer but Fang interrupted.

"Because the jerk left us without answers, and then tried to kill us numerous times," Fang growled.

I stared up, stunned. Long speech for small sentenced Fang. With emotion, too! "Congratulations, Fang! You said more than one word!" I said, grinning. Then I just realized something. Fang, some dark, hot, not so fictional character that I had run into at a CVS had just called my father a jerk and told me he tried to kill them numerous times. Strange, don't you think?

Thankfully Fang didn't try to kill me. Instead he paused for a moment, staring at me. "You're odd," he told me.

I beamed. "It's a gift." But then I put on my serious face on. "So what is going on?" My gaze drifted over everyone, stopping on Max and Dad. She was glaring fiercely at him, her arm barring of the door, and when she felt me looking she turned toward me slightly. Mix emotions filled her features, but I could tell she was trying to be a blank book. Either way, she looked just as lost as I felt. "This isn't in the books," I said blankly.

"There's a reason for that, honey," Dad said, traces of annoyance and sadness in his voice. "You weren't supposed to intervene."

My eyes widened in surprise. "Well, sorry for getting in the way," I said, frustrated. Well, sorry for wanting a freaking pencil sharpener. I didn't know _this_ would happen!

My father sighed. He started walking towards me, but by the time he was where I was sitting, I had backed up several yards, and almost knocked over Logan. He looked down at me. "Sweetie, I should have expected this. I'm sorry!" he begged. "Look, we can make it so-."

"-this never happened," I heard Max guess. "I'm not letting you erase my memory without a fight," she snapped.

Dad grimaced. "I wouldn't refer to as 'erasing your memory'." He said, smiling wryly at me. "More like lifting a burden off your shoulders. Alex, it wouldn't hurt all."

I could tell he was really asking one big question. Will you going willingly, or not? But I just ignored it all. All I said was, "Who are you?"

He raised his gaze to the ceiling thoughtfully. "Legally, you mean? Let's see here..," he said, smiling at me like I should start laughing at his not so funny joke.

Too bad for him, I wasn't so easily amused. "Dad, seriously, you just suggested to erase your daughter's memory, and you expect me to laugh? Weak, 'Dad', weak," I said blandly, crossing my arms.

"At least I tried," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Well, legally, Jeb Batchelder died three years ago in a plane crash while trying to escape authorities. Legally, Michael Reese is alive and well, living with his two daughters in Flagstaff, Arizona." Then he scowled at me. "I thought it would be far enough away from your mother."

We all stared at him, dumbstruck. "You said my mother was dead," I growled at him, slowly starting to put the pieces together. But what I thought was impossible. _They are just books_. Nothing in them is real. _But you were wrong,_ that little voice in my head whispered. _Who says it's impossible?_

"Katy's mother is."

"Who's Katy?" I heard Iggy mutter.

"That's a good question, Iggy," I heard myself call out. "Who is Katy, 'Dad'?"

"You know who she is," he informed me. He looked at me expectantly, as if the answer was just supposed to pop in my head. "She's your sister."

I stared at him, totally confused. How is she my sister if my mom's alive but hers is dead? And how is my mom even alive? "How is all even possible?"

"Katy is adopted," 'Dad' explained to me. "Her mother and father, who was a close colleague of mine, both died in a house fire. They didn't have any close family, so I became the godfather."

Every in the room besides Jenna, Logan, and I look appalled by this. "Well that was genius of them," I heard Max mutter, "give their only daughter to Dr. Crazy. Very smart."

Dad looked offended. "I'm a good father," he said defensively. Max rolled her eyes, but said nothing.

I still expected answers. "Who's my mom?"

He motioned toward Logan. "He knows."

I glanced over at Logan. He had that signature expression on his face. You know the one with him in deep thought? Come on, you gotta remember. It's his signature-! Oh, whatever.

"How is it possible he knows?" I said grittily. "Look, I know I've known him for a long time-."

Logan cut me off. With the most un-Logan like look on his face, like he wanted to punch my 'Dad', he asked my dad, "Are you blood-related to Alex?"

"Well, of course I am," 'Dad' scoffed, "don't you see the resemblens?"

Logan ignored him. Mumbling under his breath, he kept glancing from me to my dad. After a moment his eyes widened, and Angel gasped. Her face was chalk white. "You can't be serious," she breathed. "Oh my god-." She swallowed and gazed at Max.

After a moment, Max was as white as Angel. "What?" she said shortly. "You-, you-!" she stammered, gawking at my dad.

"What?" I said, panicing. If you've ever read Maximum Ride, you'll know Max rarely stammers. It's about as common as 2010. So it must be something important. "What is it?"

Max turned toward me. "Valencia," she whispered.

"Um, what that got to do with this?" I questioned her.

"Valencia Martinez," she said louder. "That's who your mom is."


	9. Back Up

**I UPDATED! FINALLY! It's not my best, but I'll put the next chapter up soon.**

I stared at Max wordlessly, thoughts racing faster and faster with questions. The first thing I couldn't help but think about was the impossible. If this was true, and, God, do I hope it's true, it means I have a _mom_. Not a picture, or a memory, but someone alive, just miles away. Somebody to hold me when I cry about boy troubles and to force me to watch those old chick flicks. A real mom.

And I have a sister. I love Katy, but this is different. A blood related sister. And one crucial thing not to forget. Two sisters. One human, on a human/bird hybrid. God, this wasn't even like Max meeting Ella. It was completely even different. Max and Ella didn't know anything about each other; I know everything about Max. I know every thought she's ever had since Angel's capture, and I know _more_. The flock's future and past were known by hundreds of kids across the world, and they didn't even know it.

But none of this made any sense. There isn't a buy one get one free sale for sisters at CVS. "Is that true?" I asked my dad sharply. He shrugged, which was enough of an answer. "Crap, this isn't awkward at all."

"Am I supposed to start sobbing now?"

"What?" I yelped. Max glanced at me with amusement, but her eyes were dull with fatigue.

"Well, aren't we going to run into each other's arms?" Max said all too seriously. "It might as well get even more cliché. I'll call the party planner so we can make up all the lost memories. Should we start with Christmas or Thanksgiving?"

The whole room came up with blank stares. Max sighed, then an odd look crossed her face. I glanced at Fang to see what was up, but he just shrugged. And then Max dropped to the floor screaming.

_**Max's POV**_

_Pictures. Videos. Coordinates. Voices. Names._

They echoed in my head, escalating in volume. It felt drums were being crashed in my ears; no normal sound seemed to reach me. But the voices. _The voices._ They screeched at me, telling me to leave, to run, and to forget all of this. A migraine pounded behind my temple. They knew this wasn't right. None of this was supposed to happen. But I didn't want to listen.

Relentlessly, images popped in my mind. Maps, building, signs, names. Leading me on the correct path; yes, it was the correct path. But it wasn't the _right _path. I tried to tell them that. I wanted this. Still they wouldn't listen. The voices trapped me in a corner of my mind, beating the truth into me. This wasn't the correct choice, my plans for the future.

But I didn't listen.

_**Fang's POV**_

"Max!" It was a well known word for the Flock, sometimes spoken with humor, guilt, or sadness. This time, however, it was spoken with fear. I ran toward her, alarm flashing through me. Grabbing on her arms, I tried to keep her writhing body down. Iggy dived down to help hold down her legs. The rest of the Flock dropped down, trying to calm her. Not being used to this, Jen, Logan, and Alex just stood there helplessly. "Angel," I called out hoarsely, still staring at Max's thrashing body, "Angel, read Max's mind. Find out what going on." When silence followed my order, I glanced around to find Angel kneeling on the ground, her knees coming up protectively around her. Her hands covered her face, but I could tell she was in pain.

"The voices," she moaned, her eyes squeezed shut, tears falling down her cheeks. "They won't stop. _Why won't they stop_?" she suddenly cried out. I was worried I would have to let go of Max to go to Angel when Alex rushed over to her; she tossed her arms around Angel's sobbing figure, quietly whispering words to her. Jenna followed suit while Logan came over to help with Max.

After a moment, Alex turned toward Jeb. Even though she had taken action so quickly, she still looked terrified. Though I barely knew her, I still felt an odd brotherly proudness to how well she was taking all this. "What's going on?" she asked Jeb coldly, glaring at him.

He glared angrily at her. "It's an emergency back-up," he snapped. "Whenever her mind turns toward a decision we didn't plan on, her mind automatically back fires. I told you not to get in the way!"

Alex looked appalled. "So she's like a puppet. You turned her into your own puppet!"

"It's her job," said Jeb coolly. "She was created for a purpose. Do you expect us to leave her to decide?"

Alex looked like she was about to say that, yes, they should, but suddenly decided against it. "What do I have to do to stop this?"

"I already told you," Jeb told her, gazing at her like she was foolish. "Forget all of this."

Opening her mouth, Alex got ready to reply before a voice interrupted her.

"No."

"Oh my God, you're all right, Max!" Nudge said breathlessly. My eyes darted toward Max. She looked exhausted, but unharmed. "We were so worried! And when you collapsed, everyone ran towards you and-."

"Not now, Nudge," Max said tensely. When I noticed her trying to her to her feet, I put an arm around her waist, and supported most of her weight as she pulled herself up slowly. She gave me a greatful smile before turning to Jeb. "Nobody's going anywhere, Jeb."

He gave her an understanding smile. "Sorry, Max." He held up a phone and on the screen was a GPS with coordinates, strangely enough, directly on top of the house. How weird is that?

"You idiot," she seethed through her teeth, her glare menacing. "Your such an idiot."

"Max," came Angel's voice. "I can hear them. The Erasers. We've got to go."

"I know," Max said tiredly. She shot me a pleading look, but I didn't even need her to tell me she needed help.

"Alex, Logan, Jen, you're coming with us. Alex, go get your sister and get down here fast." Alex nodded quickly, and scampered toward the kitchen. "Jeb, where are the car keys?" I said calmly, turning towards what Max had called The Idiot. He stubbornly remained silent. Before I even spoke to her, Nudge gave a sort of superior smirk and rocketed off the way Alex went.

If you're not catching on, I'll explain. Obviously, we had way too many people to fly with, especially with Max in the state she's in and none of us were up to fighting our way out. Assuming Jeb was the family man that he seemed to try for, there was a nice big van waiting in that huge garage of his. Two, if we were lucky.

Just in time, Nudge came in with keys jangling in her palm; following was Alex and a girl we can only assume was Kate. Kate had short bleach blond hair that somehow looked natural and blue eyes. She and Alex were arguing until she walked in the room. Stopping dead, Kate's eyes got as wide as saucers as she took us raggedy bunch. "Who are they?" she squeaked out.

"You're saviors," Max replied dryily. "We've got to go."

Leaving Jeb in the dust, Alex led us through the maze that was her house, not even giving us time to gasp at the tall ceilings and flatscreen TV. We all gathered around an oak door as she flipped the lock open and we all piled out the door. Piles of tools and toddler toys layed out, and a shiny black Prelude and blue van.

Logan held his hand out for a pair of keys. "I'll drive the Prelude. My dad taught me to use the stick shift a few months ago." I didn't even pause to question him. Who knows how many times we've broken the law. WARNING: THIS IS NOT A SUGGESTION. YOU WILL GET IN HUGE TROUBLE.

"Kate, Alex and Jenna, you go with Logan. Flock, come with me." And with that, we all fell into our designated groups. The Flock piled into the van, while the rest climbed into the Prelude. I told Logan to follow us and with that we were off.

I'll admit, I'm scared to death of driving. I've only driven one or two times, and all the buttons still confuse me. So, when I got into the car, all I knew was to turn the key and press and the gas. Thank God the garage door was open, or else I would have run into the door as I screeched out the driveway. I had Max put the coordinates of Dr. Martinez's house in the car's GPS, and all I had to do was follow the green line. In no time we were on a rampage towards Phoenix. Just in time, too. Ten minutes later, Angel updated that the Erasers had just arrived at the house and had lost our trail.

**So what did ya think? See that little button down there? He's lonely. You don't want that, do you? And all you have to do is review to solve that problem. So simple.**


	10. Cookies For The Loved

**This is a phenomenon you may never wittenence again. I updated in just a day! I'll be updating more regular now, so hopeful I can progress more into the plot. This chapter is more of filler, but anybody who was confused about Max's attack may want to pay special attention.**

"You all right?"

"Do I look like I'm all right?" I snapped back. Fang grimaced slightly, turning to look back at the road. Somehow, we hadn't run into a pole yet, though it took a bit of swerving to not hit some grandma. The rest of the Flock sat in the back, completely zonked. Earlier, Angel had given us a report that though Kate was freaking out, nobody had thrown themselves out the window yet. "Great, now I feel guilty," I stated, frowning at Fang. He just stared amusingly out at the road.

"God, you're annoying," I growled out.

"And you're grumpy," he snickered, still grinning out the windshield. Despite my efforts to stay mad, I couldn't help but smile._ Slightly._

"Sorry," I said quietly. "It's just a lot to take in. First I find out I have another sister, who I'm still not entirely sure is my half or full sister. Then I start hearing arguments in my brain? I mean, it's ok to fight with yourself, but when I lose to myself, you realize you're definitely on the train to Loonyville."

Fang gave one of his rare I-Understand smiles. Usually it the You-Know-I'm-Right smiles. "Don't sweat it."

"Thanks." I glanced at the rearview mirror to make sure Logan was still following. Not that I really expected them to try to run. They had some ounce of intelligence. If you know the Flock, you're bound to get captured some time without protection. "So what do you thinks happening?" I asked softly.

He looked conflicted before finally admitting, "I honestly don't know." I must have looked irritated, because he sighed loudly. "What exactly happened when you passed out?"

My eyebrows furrowed with concentration, trying to remember what _did_ happen. "There were voices arguing in my head. Kind of like The Voice, but tons at once, telling me to run away and leave, to forget the others. And these pictures and maps kept popping up." When Fang gave me a look, I sighed. "Yeah, I know it sounds crazy."

"Completely bonkers," he concluded. "But it makes sense. Jeb said that it was some type of back up, in case you didn't follow the plans they had for you."

"So I'm a puppet. Great. Just great."

"At least you're not dead."

"I'm loving the optimism."

Aren't you?"

Shaking my head in exasperation, I turned around to check on the Flock. It was good we were all so thin or else we wouldn't have fit. Both Angel and Nudge were fast asleep, leaning toward each other like they had been talking about the latest trends and celebrity gossip. Gazzy sat fast asleep behind them, his cheek pressed tight against the window. Iggy was next to Gazzy with his earbuds in his ears and his sightless eyes closed. I smiled at them before turning back around.

"You know they're not completely human," Fang managed to say casually, his dark eyes studying me for a reaction. I just sighed.

"Yeah, I know. I'm not sure about Logan, but since he's been so close to Alex and Jeb, he's probably the same." To be quite frank, it worried me. What did Jen, Alex, and Logan have to deal with? Was Kate the same? "Do you think they know?"

"No," he replied simply. When he turned into an intersection, I realized with a gulp that we had just passed a sign proclaiming that we had just entered Phoenix, Arizona. The silence following made me understand that the conversation was over.

"I'm glad we had this little heart-to-heart."

"Whatever you say."

**OoOoOoOoOoOo**

_**Alex's POV**_

"Ring the door bell!"

"You know what?" I decided, "You go ahead." Nervous energy had coursed through me the whole drive here, causing Kate to yell at me even more. In the end, both our mouths were duck taped shut, only to be ripped off unceremoniously by Jen. I stepped back to let Max up to the plate. Max rung the bell, and we all stood there anxiously waiting. A couple of seconds later, the door was opened by a girl around thirteen. She had long shiny dark brown hair that any girl would die for, including me with all my crazy dirty blond hair, and brown eyes. She seemed like the most down to earth person I'd ever meet until she started squealing like Nudge at a shoe sale.

"OMG! Max! Mom's going to be so excited! Not that I'm not, but she's been worried about you," the girl yelled.

"Hey Ella," Max said, am amused expression on her face. "Where is Mom?"

Ella's face fell slightly. "She's in the kitchen. Why? None of you are hurt, are you?"

"No," Max told her, "we just have some news." At that, everybody started filing through the door. Ella moved aside, and when she saw me and my friends, she only gave us a curious glance before turning to close and lock the door.

Every step closer brought me closer to hyperventilating. Sensing my nerves, Logan grabbed my hand and gave me a smile. I gave a small smile back, and followed the rest of the group through the doorway.

A tall woman stood at the oven taking out a sheet of cookies, which, for the record, smelled like heaven. She looked like her daughter with short brown hair and hazel eyes. I stared breathlessly at her while she gave our group a kind grin. "Hey guys," she chirped, setting the tray down on the cooling rack. Then she came over and hugged Max. "How's saving the world, honey," she asked cheerfully. "It's been pretty dull around here. Ella and I have just been getting ready for the wedding."

"It's been all right," Max replied, actually beaming at her mother. She gestured to my friends and I. "This is Alex, Kate, Logan, and Jen. We just ran into them recently."

"Ah," Dr. Martinez said. "Are you like Max, too?"

It took me a while before I finally realized that she was talking to me. Quickly trying to compose myself, I stuttered out, "No, I mean, Ye-No, actually-." Completely freaking out I blurted out, "She kidnapped us at a CVS in Flagstaff!"

Max groaned and the boys chuckled. I blushed in embarrassment. Dr. Martinez froze a moment, and then smiled warmly at me. She grabbed a cooled cookie from the tray and handed it to me. The rest of the Flock and my friends took that as an invitation to grab some for themselves. Ella led us into another room with tan couches set around a glass coffee table. A TV flickered to life to the right and everyone found a spot on the couches or shaggy carpet. I took a spot at the end of a couch and took a bite into the still warm cookie. Chocolatey goodness exploded in my mouth and to my embarrassment I moaned.

Max smirked and stretched out at Fang's feet. "Yeah, Mom's cookies have that effect on people." I nodded argeeingly, still wolfing down the cookie and going for another on the plate.

After a few minutes of watching the colorful images move across the TV screen, Ella broke the silence. "So how exactly did Max kidnap you?"

Shrugging, I kept chewing the gooey cookie to keep me calm. After gulping down a bite, and I responded with, "ask Jen here. Last thing I remember is recognizing Max."

Dr. Martinez glanced curiously at me. How do you know Max?"

"I don't."

Both Martinez's looked thoroughly confused, but I just ignored that.

Max turned toward her mom. "Better question is, do you recognize Alex?"

Dr. Martinez gazed at Max with puzzlement. "What do you mean?"

My eyes meant Dr. Martinez's. I could have run. I could've left this all behind, the confusion, the fights for my life. But I didn't know what was going to happen. If I had known that the battles coming would not only test me physically, but would bring me so close to edge it would bring a grown man to tears, I may not have taken a step on the bridge. But I did. So, I said the truth.

"I'm your daughter."

**Please review! I love complements, and constructive criticism is great!**


	11. The Revealing Part One

Ella gasped and turned to stare at me in awe like I was some sort of god. "You knew this, then?" she squealed at Max. "Why didn't you tell me? I could have helped you or something with breaking the news!"

"Sorry, I thought it would be better to tell Mom first."

"Still, she's my sister, too! Think of all the…"

I could hear their argument commence, but all I could think of was the confusion, then pity, on my supposed mom's face.

"What?" I asked worriedly. Wasn't a mother supposed to be happy when she found her long lost child, not pitiful? "What's wrong?"

Dr. Martinez opened her mouth as if she was going to say something before finally saying, "I don't think I'm the one you're looking for."

"Huh?" was the smartest thing I could think of. I couldn't comprehend what she was saying for a moment before the words finally connected. My eyes burned with unshed tears, but I just swallowed hard to keep them from pouring down my cheeks. Just now, I only realized how hopeful I was. _So _close. I was so close to her, and now she's gone. "What d-do you mean?" I asked shakily, trying to keep it together. Everyone was staring at me with sympathy, and it just made me want to burst into tears even more. Half of the people in this room didn't even know me, but _they still cared_.

"Hon, I haven't had a child since Ella," she told me softly, her soft brown eyes searching mine.

"What if they made you forget," I gulped out, trying to find a light in the dark. "I've read those books. The horror they put kids through. They tried to tell Max that everything was a dream, what if they did that to you? Or maybe I'm a test tube baby or-."

"Alex," Dr. M interrupted gently, "that could be possible, but to make a person forget nine months? That's quite a large expanse of time to cover up. About you being a test tube baby: it's plausible, but very unlikely. Max's group was put into a different branch of the Itex; they were considered very important. The reason they, among tons of other experiments, survived, were because they were needed by Itex. Besides, do you even know you're…like Max?"

I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out. That was the thing, I didn't know. The silence seemed to close in; then, a voice broke through it all. "She is. In fact Jen, and most likely Logan, are also mutants."

"Iggy?" I asked quickly, turning towards him; I was so bewildered that I completely forgot about Dr. M. Jen and Logan both twisted to get a good look and the blind teenager. "What the heck are you talking about?"

Iggy's sightless eyes flickered towards Max's area of the room. "Max knows. She was keeping it from you."

"What is he talking about, Max?" I demanded. "I need answers. Now."

Max glared at Iggy, then glanced at Fang. He gave her a small nod. "Fact is, flying as high is you did on the way to movie theater, the lack of oxygen, or at least the air pressure, should have made you both pass out."

Dr. Martinez chimed in. "Sure, Alex had already passed out, but there are certain signs that show the body is trying to hold on to the little oxygen it has. The circulation of blood is affected, so fingertips or toes may become blue with blood loss. The heart rate speeds up also."

"Let me get this straight," Jen croaked, her eyes wide. "I'm-we're-only _part human?_"

Max nodded slightly, and I gasped. "And you were going to keep this info from us?" I growled out angrily. She guiltly looked down at the cookie in her hand; then she ruined the whole effect by taking a huge bite out of it.

"You're all insufferable idiots!" I snarled, and stompped out of the room.

"Insufferable?" Nudge murmered quietly, staring after the seething girl questioningly. "We're _insufferable_?"

**I was going to write more, but I decided just to post this first. It may be a couple of days before I post the next part of the chapter, but I'll try to update as soon as possible. Review!**


	12. The Revealing Part Two

__**Hi! So I know I haven't updated in a long, long time. But here I am! This is rather short, but it gets the point across. Please review!**

_**Jenna's POV**_

We all looked down the dark hallway in which Alex had just run off through. Silence filled the room and I felt Nudge shift uncomfortably in her seat beside me. I leaned down towards Logan, who was sitting frozen at the edge of the leather couch. "Shouldn't you be going after her?" I whispered frantically in his ear. "She's not going to listen to me or anyone else now."

Jumping at the sound of my voice, he waved me away and leaned toward the coffee table, his hands clasped in his lap. "Does any of this mutant stuff cause people to see lights?" he asked eagerly.

Max rolled her eyes. "I don't know, Logan. Tell you what, we'll do a little test," she said sarcastically. "Hey, Ella, Nudge, can both of you see the lightbulb in the lamp lighting up? Sure, I mean, I can, but who knows." By now, she was snarling at all of us, "Maybe I'm a bigger freak then I thought!" With that, she angrily threw open a couple of French doors to the left and sprinted into the black yard. Her figure quickly disappeared in the night, but you could hear a flurry of feathers unfolding and a quick succession of flaps before it was silent.

Fang stood up and gave me an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that. The stress was bound to get to her some time." His black wings were halfway unfolded as he walked through the doors, and soon after you heard Fang's take off, smooth and precise, in the still night outside.

Dr. M groaned loudly, and her head fell into her lap. "This is turning out more confusing than needed."

Logan glanced guiltly at her. "Sorry," he replied apologetically. "It's just, well, honestly I have some questions that need to be answered."

"I understand. Obviously I'm not like Max, so you should probably either ask Ella or the Flock," she said.

Nudge nodded. "That's a good idea, but since Angel's kinda' the power house here, she's the one you want to ask."

Logan turned to the innocent six year old, who beamed up at him."So what are these lights you see," she asked, her clear voice breaking the quiet like throwing a rock at glass.

He gave her an apprehensive look, but started to explain. "A few years ago, I started getting these bursts of energy, like I would suddenly feel like I could run a mile in two minutes."

"That explains the grades in gym," I muttered, and when everyone glanced at me my cheeks heated up. "What I mean is that you always sucked at gym. No offense, but you really aren't all that athletic. And suddenly you were beating Alex in races… oh, she got _so _mad. She spent at least three weeks insisting you had been bitten by a radioactive spider."

"Yeah, I remember that," he said, grinning. "I think I caught you two times hiding under my bed." I blushed even more. Logan rolled his eyes and turned back toward the glass coffee table. "Anyway, what I didn't tell you guys about were these strings of light everywhere; and I'm not talking three in a room, but at least eighty, with tons of colors. They came in bursts, and they've started coming more often these days."

"Are they just floating there, or are they actually attached to something?" Nudge asked eagerly. "Because wouldn't be cool if you could suddenly see emotions or something. Maybe I would be pink all the time! But then again, wouldn't that mean I was in love with everything? That would be horrible, because what if I had to like the color black? I mean, no offense to Fang, but to wear black clothing all the time? I love cute sparkly black handbags as much as the next girl, but seriously? Crazy! Do you see black lights? That could mean-."

Logan gave Iggy a nod, completely forgetting he was blind. I guess with how he acts, it's easy to forget. "They usually connect people together, but every once and awhile there'll be a line connecting a person to a building. That's actually how I knew about Alex and Max. At first, it was white with a thin strand of this blood red line, which I found odd, because usually at first there's _no _line with new people. Of course, you two had known long enough to have first impressions, which was probably the red line. But once I found out about the white line and what it meant and told you two, it changed to a sort of green."

"It sounds like you already know what it is," Angel said. "You know, you're power."

"Pretty much," Logan admitted. "But I'm wonder where it came from. Honestly, I came really close to going to a neurologist or something. It freaked me out."

Dr. Martinez perked up at her queue. "It could have been a disease of the nerves, I suppose, but seeing that you were in close contact with Jeb for some time…" She trailed off, and Iggy nodded. "She's right, you know," Iggy replied knowingly. "If you sprout webbed feet, we'll be sure to find a fish bowl for you."

"Thanks, Iggy."

"Wait," Gazzy said. "So what the heck is your power?"

"It's to see relationships, like love or hate or blood related," Logan explained lightly. Gazzy studied the floor, then glanced back up at Logan with excitement. "Like Max and Fang?" he crowed, looking incredibly pleased with himself. Nudge giggled behind her hand, and Iggy outright started laughing; even Dr. M smiled. "Yes, Gaz," Iggy chuckled. "Just like Max and Fang."

"_Now_ will you go hunt down Alex," I said to Logan, sighing. Knowing Alex, she had probably made her way up twenty five feet off the ground. It scared Logan half to death. One minute she was arguing with him; the next he was trying to coaxe her down the thirty feet.

"Yeah." With that, he pulled himself off the coach and stretched, groaning slightly. Then he turned to Dr. M. "Are there any tall monuments around here? Trees, the roof, garage, loft, elevator…?"

She looked thoroughly confused, but answered dutifully. "Yeah, a pine tree in the back."

Logan and me shared a look. "Of course it had to be a pine tree. Nice thin branches that crack and let angry teenage girls go splat." I glared at him, but he had already called out a farewell, off in search of Alex.


	13. Never Have A Pine Tree As An Enemy

** Hey! So, as I promised I'm getting my story up soon. Well, actually I didn't promise, but…. Anyway, the last line in the last chapter: has that ever happened to any of you? I mean, it seems half the people I know end up halfway up the pine tree, and I get freaked out that they're going to fall. Those branches are thin. And this rant has been **_**pointless.**_

**I'd also like to say hi to my sister, Ari, who will hopeful read some of my stories. She lives in a different state, so I don't see her much, but who knows? So, as I said hi and I miss you! Though we live apart, you have no idea how important you are to me.**

**Without further ado is chapter random number!**

** Never mind, I still have one thing to say. I get I haven't updated in awhile, but over 120 people checked out my story, and only six people reviewed. Honestly, I'm not only looking for somewhere to publish my work, but a place to get critiquing and comments. Please try to review!**

_**Max POV**_

Stupid Alex. Stupid Logan. Stupid Jen.

Everything was going perfect. Total's getting married, Fang and I are together, and we haven't been attacked by Erasers in a few weeks. And then _they _have to come along without their freaking mutant powers and Jeb. Well, he** to them. Can't I have a moment of peace without some long lost sister popping up? I flung my fist out blindly in the dark, and it met the trunk of the oak tree I was perched in with a sickening thunk. I hissed and brought the hand back to my chest, trying to assess the damage in the minimal light from the sliver of moon. It wasn't scratched up to bad, but it was going to have a mighty bruise tomorrow.

Sighing, I leaned up against the trunk, my feet dangling in midair. Now I was left with a throbbing hand and a horrible attitude. _Great_. And the moon just cast shadows that laughed at my stupidity **(A/N: I blame this line on a poetry class)**. Since when did I have a normal life; what on earth made me assume life was getting any easier? This was all some twisted punishment from the universe: I idiotically thought the world would give me a rest, and this is what I get.

I felt bad about Total and Akila, too. We had promised to be there for Total, and because we were really his only family, we should go. God, what was I thinking; he's a _dog._ Then again, he is a talking dog, and Angel would kill us if we didn't go unless something huge happened. In my list, this would be under Huge, but Angel would put in under Minor Inconvenience.

In the midst of my chat with myself, I didn't hear the decent of a pair of wings until the branch underneath me shook with extra weight. I squeaked, almost losing my grip on my seat, and gave a death glare at the figure. "Go away," I whined, crossing my arms and turning my back towards Fang childishly. Then, like the idiot I can be, I peeked behind me to see him smirking. I could just hear his teasing comments, though unspoken. "Shut up," I growled, and he grinned. "What do you want?"

The smirk had dropped. Fang just gazed at me with those fathomless eyes of his, probably noticing my wild eyes and messy hair. Instead of commenting, he reached forward to brush my bangs away from my forehead; his fingers trailed unhurriedly, leaving a hot trail. Despite our situation, I blushed bright red. Thank God it was dark, or he would never let it go.

"Why are you so worried?" he asked me quietly.

His voice calmed me, and I took a deep breath. I wouldn't say I was worried. More confused, angry, and yeah, I guess, a little worried. Wasn't I allowed to be? We'd all dealt with so much in our past, and would most likely deal with so much in the future. I have a freaking mutant sister, and Ella, a human sister. It was all so confusing. And Fang was getting more and more distant, it seemed; it was getting harder and harder to read him. Total and Akila's wedding-we had to be there for them, even if I can't believe it with him being a _dog_.

But Fang was still one of the closest people to me on this earth, and he knew how I felt. "Things are going to get rough," he told me. "But the Flock and I, we're going to be there to help you save the world. Everyone's on your side, Max. No one is going to abandon you because of anyone. And Alex, it sounds like she'll be able to help us out. So there's nothing to stress over. Ok?"

I felt like sobbing. Just when the world seems sane, Fang becomes all emotional on me. Of course, it has to be at the perfect time, the perfect place, and he's calmly picking up the pieces. I attempted to gulp down the tears, but they still poured down my cheeks. Fang inched over and wrapped his arms around me; my own personal shield. And that's how I spent the next half an hour: being rocked up in a tree under the stars by Fang.

What would I do without him?

**Everyone say it with me: Ahhhhh! I've always wanted to write something like that! How'd I do? Was it horrible? Good? Pitchfork time? I'm not finished, though. We have another pair that I need to write about, but it's not all lovey dovey (this time ). Can you all guess who? And sorry about the beginning. Not original, but I couldn't resist!**

_**Alex POV**_

Stupid Max. Stupid Iggy. Stupid scientists.

All right, so I admit, I think it'd be so cool to be mutant; I've read the books. They go on all these awesome adventures, have amazing powers, and freedom. But when it comes to my DNA, I'd kind of like to know if I'm all-the-way human, you know? And with what's coming along in the future for the Flock… well, let's just say it'll be a nifty positive to be inhuman.

And Dr. M. My eyes just filled with tears at the thought, and this time I let them overflow; there was no one to see my weakness, so why hold it and let it explode later? I just can't believe it: I thought I found my mom, and suddenly it's all wrong? Who the heck would trick a kid into that type of thing? I started shaking with my sobs, and when the branch underneath me cracked, I froze. So I wasn't a genius to be thirty feet of the hard, inflexible ground; sue me.

"Would you get down?"

"Go away," I yelled down. But even in the dark, I could see the look Logan gave me; he wasn't going to give up that easily. He walked up to the trunk and surveyed the branches before slowing starting his way up. Every once and awhile, he come to huge gaps and hesitated before going higher. By the time he made it up to the branch below me, he was shivering. Logan and heights did not mix well.

"So what's wrong?" he asked once he was happy with the thickness of the branch he was on.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Nothing's wrong. Why would anything be wrong? I mean, I only just ran into a group of fictional characters. What made you think something was wrong?"

"Shut up, Alex."

I can here you all gasping. You think I'm going to punch him, right? See, Logan and I have been best friends since the beginning. When he or I say something like that, it's perfectly fine. It's not the same with Jen, but we've all learned each other's boundaries, which helps with the whole inseparable till the end thing.

"If you're worried about the mutant thing," he continued, "don't be. We both know you think it's amazing, which I also do. Sure, Max and the others were unfair to keep it from us, but we both just need to try to get along. You can't expect them to suddenly trust us."

I hate to admit it, but he was right. "So what about Dr. M?" I asked more quietly. Suddenly, I became very aware of my tear-tracked face and dirty streaked shirt. I must have looked horrible, like some zombie.

"She's your mother."

_This _caught me by surprise. "That's impossible," I said sadly. "She was right. Just drop it, Logan. Stop lying."

He rolled his eyes. "I'm not. I'll explain it later, but those abilities the Flock has? Weirdly enough, I've had one for a couple years now, and it lets me know for a fact that she is your mother. And yes, Max is your sister. Same with Ella, of course." Knowing that, I was filled with this giddy happiness, like someone had just given me a giant chocolate bunny for Easter. I grinned, and Logan grinned right back. "Cograduations, Alex. You have a mom."

I pouted. "You make it sound like I'm having a kid." Logan just raised an eyebrow at me; yes, singular. "You know I hate that!" I screeched, and before he could stop me, I leaned down to slap him in the head. The poor tree couldn't take it anymore, and the branch cracked, which left me to plummet to the ground. Logan tried to grab me, but only got himself falling as I fell into him. The breath was knocked out of me as we bumped down through the foliage, and by the grunts of pain Logan was probably taking the brunt of it all. As we got closer and closer to the ground, all I could think was: _Ohmy goshI'm going to diebyatree,astupidtree… _A small part of my subconscious realized Logan was right beside me and I was going to never tell my birth mom the truth. And of course, I screamed most of the way out of panic, because quite frankly it happened so fast. The dirt floor of the forest was hurtling towards us and all I could think was _no, no ,no, stop! _Just like that, I did just a yard from smashing to my death.

Logan had stopped also. We were both hovering, and once I actually processed what was happening, we dropped. Logan and I layed gasping on the ground, trying to catch our breath. Logan was the first; he grimaced as he rolled over and sat up. Our eyes caught each other and we both thought the same thing: what just happened?

"You didn't do that, did you," I wheezed out. It wasn't a question, it was a fact. He nodded slowly, though immediately stopping as his face contorted in pain. He gave a weary glance at me. "No," he replied slowly. "I think you did."

**So how was that? And to Evilhunterperson, if you're still reading this, was the death fall believable this time? I hope so. I'm not sure when I'll be updating next; hopefully sometime next week. But I need some ideas for Jenna's power. I have some ideas, but they're not all that original, so I wondered if you have any thoughts, could you PM me? And I do mean PM; don't want any spoilers=D And don't worry if it doesn't come up quickly if I choose yours because I'm not positive when I'm going to reveal it. Even if it's a small power, like telling time to the millisecond or something. I have a big one I may use….**

**Anyway, I have another challenge. In this chapter, I put a hint in for physical appendages that will be written about in the future (like wings and such). Try to find it! And Little Miss Spaz, you know, though you may not realize it=)**

**Until Next Time,**

**The Illusionist's Wings04**


	14. Pink Skirts And New Powers

_**Alex POV**_

"Oh my gosh, are you guys all right? Why am I asking that, of course you're not all right! And is that a bug in your hair, Alex? Gross! Did you fall into a bush or something? We so need to get you new clothes. You, like Max, have no fashion sense. Hoodies and jeans, with no skirts? It's soooo not possible to live that way. I've had some fashion disasters before, so now I'm always prepared. Is purple ok? I'd give you my pink skort, but it kind of got ripped up in a fight…. So what happened again?" Nudge paused, taking a deep breath.

Jenna's jaw had hit the ground at the sight of Logan supporting me as we both limped in, and the rest of them stared at us in awe. "How the heck did you guys manage to get killed and brought back in an hour?" Ella gasped. "I know you're related to Max, but how…?"

"Hey!" Max protested. "She's your sister, too!"

"How'd you fall out of a tree?" Angel said innocently from the corner of the room. I blushed bright red. "He was the one who raised the eyebrow," I sputtered, pointing at Logan. He grinned, setting me down carefully on the cream couch. Dr. M-or Mom as I suppose I should say-bless her heart, didn't flinch as the dirt and leaves were grinded into the stitching.

"You fell out of a tree?" Fang asked from next to Max. They had come back about half an hour ago, and many were questioning where the couple had run off to. Fortunately (or unfortunately), the new kids had caused a little more Flock gossip. "And you're not dead?"

I frowned. "Great to know you have so much faith," I snapped.

"So how far did you fall?" Kate asked curiously.

"I don't know." Instead of waiting for an answer, everyone turned to Logan. "Thirty feet," he estimated, shrugging. "Maybe thirty-five if we were lucky."

"Lucky!" Dr. M looked freaked out at that. "You sure were lucky! You should be dead!"

"Yeah, our little magician saved us. One second we were falling," he mimed someone falling with his hands, "the next, we were floating a couple feet above the ground."

"Floating?" Jenna pouted. "Why are you guys getting all the cool powers?" Iggy patted her on top of her head, and Jen slapped his hand away. Iggy feigned insulted, then turned to Logan. "So you're positive it wasn't Logan," he said.

"I know it wasn't me," concluded Logan. He glanced at Iggy and suddenly said out of now where, "I don't think Max will be happy about that. Alex, is that what happens?" I was confused for a moment before I noticed Logan's gaze hovering between Iggy and Ella, and then I laughed out loud. "This is going to be s_o _much fun, Jen," I sing-songed. She also seemed momentarily puzzled before she saw Logan, and then she beamed, "Yes, yes it is."

"You've forgot to tell Dr. M the good news," Angel called out, and I smiled at her. "I suppose I did." I turned to Dr. M, but she already understood. Angel, this was where it was supposed to get dramatic! Dr. M's eyes filled with tears, and she sniffed. "Welcome home."

**(=0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0=)**

_**Logan's POV (I have no idea how I'm going to write this! Wish me luck!)**_

"We'll get the results to you somehow!" Dr. M, or Mom as she insisted, called from the front door. We all stood out on the front lawn under a sky twinkling with stars. She felt bad for sending us out so quickly, but Max said it was best with Erasers tracking us now. "You have laptop, Fang? I'll just send you the results by email. Even if it's hacked into, it'll make no difference. Jeb will already know."

We figured that even if others had to find out their selves what DNA they had, we didn't have to wait for the info. I absently rubbed the new puncture wound on my arm, which still stung. "Thanks, Mom!" I said politely. She smiled at me kindly. "Of course, honey. Any friend of Alex's is allowed here anytime."

The rest of the Flock said their good-byes, Max and Alex gave Ella and Mom hugs. Alex gave Kate a hug also, promising to come back soon. Since she was Alex's sister, Alex insisted that Kate stay with Mom, thinking that it would be too dangerous. Oddly enough, Kate hadn't argued; she was happy to stay with Ella and go to school. Mom had said she would explain everything that Kate _needed_ to know after we left. After that, the door was closed and we all headed out to the curb where the cars sat. "We need to get rid of these cars fast," I assumed. Fang nodded in agreement. "Logan's right. They'll have everyone on high alert."

"So where are we going?" Gazzy asked, already sitting on the edge of the back seat. His sister perked up. "We're headed to Total's wedding."

Max sighed. "Angel, I don't think we can. We're on the run, and Jeb's supposed to be coming."

"No," Angel replied calmly. "He promises he'll leave us alone for it. We can get rid of the cars there." Everyone looked surprised at this, but then Jen climbed into the back of the Prelude. "We'll get to meet the famous Dylan!"

Max's eyes widened at that, and she covered her face with her hands, groaning. "I completely forgot about him!"

"We'll deal with that later," I said. "We have to get out of here soon or else the neighbors are going to complain about the noise."

Everyone agreed to that, and we all got into are designated cars. Seconds later, the van careened onto the street, a giggling Gazzy at the wheel. He whooped until an angry Max shoved him into the back, and the only thing left behind was a girl Kate, memories, and a broken mailbox.

**I don't really like this chapter, but I was in the writing mood. The bigger chapter will hopefully come up some time next week, but no promises. Thanks to all that have given me suggestions for powers! I know when Jen's power will turn up, but you'll just have to wait patiently. The next chapter will be the wedding, so stay tuned.**

**See ya when the moon decides that it's bored with being a moon,**

**The Illusionist's Wings04**


	15. Again?

**Yeah, this is going to be short…. Anyway, so sorry I haven't updated! Since school started, it's been really crazy. Homework, family problems, social life I'm attempting to expand, acting class, getting sick, weird French accents…. Yeah, when I complain, I complain XD. I'm not sure when I'll update next; this chapter was supposed t0 be longer but I've had little time. Who knows right now. I've posted a few Soul Eater fics if any of you peeps want to read them, and soon I'm going to post another MR one-shot. Hope you like the chapter!**

"I'm going to a dog's wedding."

"_Total's _wedding," Nudge corrected. She flashed me a grin from below. "I mean, yeah, he's a dog, but it's like calling us birds. Actually, it's like calling me some meat eating creature. And I'm a vegetarian. I don't get how you people eat meat. Just thinking about stringy, raw red meat with blood squishing out-."

"La, la, la, la!" Jen screamed from the side, her hands over her ears. How she managed to hear anything that far in the rushing wind was beyond me. "I actually like meat, thank you very much. So would you be quiet?"

"All of you stop it," Max yelled over the wind. Her wings flapped strong against the lightening sky. I was being carried by Fang, and even though I felt like dropping into dream land, due to Angel's crazy attempt to kill me earlier, I thought it was better not to. Jenna was in Iggy's arms to the right of us, looking half asleep as well, and Max was to the left. Gazzy and Angel glided above the group. Logan, due to his fear of heights, was still driving the Prelude below with the GPS as the guide. The Flock had ditched the van a few hundred miles back. "Let me think," she told us.

"What's to think about?" Angel yelled. "We're going, right? We promised."

"Angel," Fang reasoned, his eyes still focused ahead. "It could be a bad idea. And with the others-."

"We're going!" Angel said stubbornly. Max froze in midair and whirled around. Even Angel halted at Max in leader mode. "No, _we_ are not," Max snarled. "You want to go, fine. After all, you want to be leader so much. So go take care of yourself." Yet again, Max ran off, going into turbo drive ahead of us.

"Does this happen a lot?" Jenna asked quietly. Nobody answered. Angel's eyes were filling with tears, and Gazzy flapped ahead to comfort his sister. Of course, it was hard without hitting wings, so he had to give up after only patting her on the head from above. "Am I that much of a pain?" Angel whispered.

"No, Ang," I said, trying to comfort the small child 20,000 feet in the air. Whether or not it sounded good, she knew my intentions and weakly smiled in my direction.

Nudge had been quiet all this time. "So what are we doing now?"

Fang stared in the direction Max had gone for a moment, then sighed and looked down towards the forest that was slowly getting closer. "Nudge, go try to find shelter of some type. Preferably dry, clouds are coming in. We should have made camp soon, anyway. Gazzy, go find Logan. Most parks have parking, so when you find that call for Angel to find your way through the woods. The rest of us are going to find some food. Just be careful." Everyone flapped for a second, staring at Fang. Then Nudge gave a nod and flew towards the canopies. Gazzy reluctantly moved from his sister's side and desended towards a clump of foliage near the road. Angel followed Nudge, and Iggy and Fang flew towards the nearest town.

I had been shifting in Fang's arms for a minute, trying to get comfortable, until he finally slammed to a halt and glared down at me. "Do you _want _me to drop you?" Fang growled. Most times, any look like that would have sent me cowering in the corner. But this is Fang were talking about. He's all growl, no bite. So, I just smiled sweetly at him. "Sorry."

"Are you to lovebirds coming?" Iggy complained impatiently from below. "All the good dumpsters will be empty."

We both blushed. Fang flew after Iggy, insisting we weren't lovebirds. After all, I didn't even _have_ wings. But Ig just snickered and even Jen was smirking in our general direction. "That would creepy," I muttered. "Dating my sister's date." I shivered at the thought. This was _so _weird.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**


	16. Tough Times

** I'm so sorry I haven't updated. It's been crazy, and I know I always say that, but I guess it's the truth. Hope you enjoy!**

_**Jenna's POV**_

"Should we be worried?" I whispered towards Nudge. She tilted her head in confusion until I motioned towards Max, who had come back in a huff about half an hour after Iggy started the fire. She was sitting stubbornly out of the reach of the warm flames. Her arms crossed over her chest, trying to desperately keep a handle on the lingering body heat.

Nudge laughed, but shut her mouth when she realized how loud that was. "No," she told me loudly, still giggling through her teeth. "She gets like this a lot. Sometimes worse. Fang says we should just let her stew for a while, and don't take it personally." Nudge thoughtfully rubbed her fingers across an empty red pen we had found laying in the empty camping space She spaced out, and after a few quiet pesters, I left her alone.

"So what now?" I heard Alex ask from across the licking flames. Her face shone a bright red against the dark woods in the background. "I mean, are we going to the wedding? Should I make some party dress out of leaves? I only have ten dollars on me, and I don't think Logan or Jen have much more." She nudged Logan next to her for confirmation, and he gave a slight nod.

Angel once again jumped up to defend the trip. "We'll be fine!" she argued, standing calmly in front of the group. "Jeb won't try anything. He knows the mission could be jeopardized even more if we change paths to much-."

"We're not talking about destiny again, are we?" So the great Max speaks. She stalked up near the circle and glared down, not at Angel, but at Alex. "Look, what Fang has been saying for the last few months is sounding better and better all the time. Move to a secluded island, let the panic pass here. I can't save the world, guys. I just can't." Plopping down on the edge of log, she frowned at Fang, who suddenly seemed interested in the dirt. "What?" she snapped. "You said it."

"Max," Fang tested, carefully wording the words. "I don't think that may be such a great idea anymore. Kids have been emailing me about crazy growth spurts and mutant powers. Some sound realistic. They need you, Max, to lead them."

Max stared incredulously at him. "Are _you_ for real? You've been acting different, Fang. What, did the whitecoats finally get to you?"

Fang looked mad, but Iggy stepped in to save us all. "Stop fighting like a bunch of old ladies," Iggy said all too seriously, glaring at the couple.

"Couldn't have said it better myself, Ig," Logan said. "Look, even though I've only been in the runaway circus for a bit, it sounds like something's changing, and there's things being kept secret." He gave a pointed look toward Fang and Angel. Fang looked away from Logan's gaze, and Angel just pouted. "We need to work together if-."

"You're joking," Max muttered, chuckling darkly. "Yeah, that'll work. As Jeb said, we all need to work together and such. Whoop dee-doo."

"Maybe if you guys would stop arguing we could find out what's going on!" Alex nearly screamed, staring exsasperatedly at the fight. "What the heck is wrong with everyone! You all seemed to get along fine earlier."

Max winced. "Stop yelling," she muttered. "My head is killing me."

"Your head?" Nudge asked, her eyes flickering around the group. She looked sick; Nudge was swaying at the spot, her thumb rubbing the pen top still clamped in her fingers nervously. "I thought that was gone. Is the Voice telling you anything? Because maybe we should listen this time. I mean, no offense, but maybe Angel's right. After all, these headaches are never a good sign, or as far as I can tell. Maybe-."

"Nudge," Iggy put his hand on her mouth gently. "Please, not now." Nudge's brown eyes were wide, but she slumped over and laid her head on his lap. I was startled by the movement and jumped in my seat, but judging by the looks, or lack of, this wasn't an odd action. In fact, I realized how many of these small gestures of comfort I had seen in the past few hours from the flock. Now that she was back in the campfire circle, Fang was letting Max lean on his side supportatively. I guess I hadn't noticed it because of how much I had lived around it since I was nine. Alex, Logan, and I had always helped each other through tough situations. Even with this awareness, however, I found it so strange how at home I felt with the flock. Across the fire, I could tell, whether or not they knew it, both Logan and Alex were sitting shoulder to shoulder looking content.

We all sat in an awkward silence for the next ten minutes or so until I heard a soft thump to my right. Gazzy had actually managed to fall asleep sitting on his log and his head had landed an uncomfortable distance away from the dying flames. He raised his head groggily, and Angel reached out a hand to help her brother up.

"I think he's got the right idea," Alex said helpfully. She stood up and stretched her arms high above her head.

"Alex is right," Max muttered. "We should all get some sleep. Fighting isn't going to do any good, especially if someone trips here." Everyone agreed with this motion and I fumbled my way to Logan and Alex. Logan offered a dull smile, but Alex just stared dreamily down at the ground. We were led to a cave a little ways into the forest and Nudge presented a soft blanket for the three of us. For some, sleeping on the same blanket would have been to embarrassing, but tell me that next time you're about to pass out from exhaustion.

I was lying to the right of Alex, and she to Logan. We all murmured a goodnight to each person, and as soon as I was comfortable as could be on the stone floor, passed into an uneasy sleep.

That is, until a scream woke us all up.

**This isn't really how I thought my story was going to end. But let's see where this will lead… R&R!**


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